Natalie Portman passes on Steve Jobs film

Oscar-winning actress Natalie Portman has rejected the chance to star in the new Steve Jobs biopic

Natalie Portman has rejected the chance to appear as the female lead in the new Steve Jobs biopic.

'Jobs' has already encountered casting problems - with Leonardo DiCaprio and Christian Bale both withdrawing from the main role - and the 'Black Swan' actress has become the latest big name star to back out of the project.

However, sources have told Variety that other actresses are already in talks for the part.

The decision of the 33-year-old star comes shortly after Sony Pictures pulled out of the planned biopic of Jobs - who tragically passed away from pancreatic cancer in 2011, aged 56 - and Universal picked up the project.

The film is being scripted by Aaron Sorkin with input from Walter Isaacson, who wrote the entrepreneur's official biography.

'Jobs' will focus on three key moments from the CEO's life: the launch of the Mac, the takeover of computer company NeXT and the production of the iPod.

'Jobs' currently features Michael Fassbender as the lead character and Seth Rogen as Steven Wozniak, the co-creator of technology company, while Danny Boyle is directing the much-anticipated new flick.

Last year, Ashton Kutcher starred as Jobs in a biopic that looked at his life between 1974, when he was a student, and 2001, when the iPod was released.

Unflattering but impressively multifaceted portrait of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs (Fassbender), centring on three key product launches: the Macintosh, the NeXT and the iMac. Boyle and Sorkin whip up genuine suspense, and the cast (Winslet, Daniels, Rogen) perform with furious conviction, with Fassbender unearthing the…